Oakmont junior Garcia fifth in National Finals

Victah Sailer/PhotoRun.netKarlie Garcia of Oakmont races along the 5K course at Balboa Park in San Diego on her way to a fifth-place finish in the Foot Locker Cross Country National Finals on Saturday.

Victah Sailer/PhotoRun.netClare Carroll (right) of Vista del Lago crosses the finish line 27th in the Foot Locker Cross Country National Finals on Saturday at Balboa Park in San Diego.

Oakmont High School junior Karlie Garcia finished fifth in the Foot Locker Cross Country National Finals on Saturday in San Diego.

Garcia, coming off a victory in the West Regional a week earlier, said she got a "better start than usual" and caught the lead pack "quicker than usual." But Seidel and another runner "were in their own little world up front."

Garcia finished 15th in the National Finals as a freshman in 2009.

Vista del Lago sophomore Clare Carroll finished 27th in the field of 40 in 18:18. She said she was "a little disappointed," but she was competing in just her fourth race after an injury hampered the first half of this season. She also ran in the National Finals last year.